NEW SCREEN RELEASES EMBRACE ’60S RETRO.
New film, TV releases have a retro flair
“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” as Dylan sang, but these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.
MOVIES
Big Release on Aug. 14: The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Big Picture: The ’60s were all about free love, but who knew the era was so carefree with acronyms? United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. U.N.C.L.E?! No spy organization should be named after the family member most people try to avoid sitting next to at Christmas dinner. Guy Ritchie directs this update on the ’60s TV series. Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer star as rival CIA and KGB agents forced to team up to infiltrate an “international criminal organization” with ties to former Nazis (Yes. Another one. In Hollywood, they’re a dime a dozen). Set in 1963, this odd couple of espionage battle over tactics, the beautiful daughter (Alicia Vikander) of a missing German scientist and — most important — who can land the most scene-ending one-liners. (Potential movie promo: Way funnier than the actual Cold War!). Amid the car chases, boat chases and skirt chases, the world is saved from nuclear disaster.
Forecast: Both actors get a break from franchises to, err, create a new one! But it’s nice to see Hammer without a Lone Ranger mask on and Cavill deserves to take the lead (and swap spandex for a tailored suit) given that he’s double-billed with Ben Affleck’s Caped Crusader in Batman v. Superman. (BTW: Cavill’s agent is named Napoleon Solo, which certainly sounds like a lazy screenwriter mixed together names out of a charades bowl. But the character existed in the original — long before Han Solo was a twinkle in George Lucas’s ADHD-addled eyes.)
TV
Big Event: Show Me a Hero (Aug. 16, HBO)
Big Picture: This isn’t the new Heroes reboot. Watch for that in September on NBC/ Global. This is an adaptation of author Lisa Belkin’s non-fiction account of a 1960s mayor (Oscar Isaac) wrestling with racial tension after a federal court orders low-income housing projects built in white neighbourhoods. Hmmm. A community torn up by race and class issues? Not a lot has changed in the U.S. in the past 50 years.
Forecast: I’m divided on this miniseries. On one hand, it’s topical and has some great pedigree in creator David Simon (The Wire) and Canadian director Paul Haggis (Crash). On the other hand … it co-stars Jim Belushi. But the edge goes to Simon’s writing (if he’d written According to Jim, I’m sure the sitcom wouldn’t have made me feel half as nauseous). Plus, the stellar cast is rounded out by the likes of Catherine Keener, Alfred Molina and Winona Ryder.
MUSIC
Big Release on Aug. 14: Blackalicious (Imani, Vol. 1)
Big Picture: The influential rap duo (rapper Gift of Gab and DJ Chief Xcel) returns with its first in a decade — kicking off a three-album trilogy to be released over the next two years. Nobody does tongue-twisters like Gift of Gab; I’d pay good money to hear him take a crack at “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” The guest appearances on this new effort include funk band Monophonics and vocalist Zap Mama.
Forecast: Imani is the Swahili word for “faith” — and longtime Blackalicious fans will have theirs rewarded. Meanwhile, I predict a proliferation of “icious” bands: Purplicious; Delicious; Sid Viciousalicious.
The possibilities are truly endless.